The present technology relates to a surface property modifying sheet cartridge and an image forming cartridge in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium and forms a protective layer protecting a surface of the image by using a thermal transfer sheet.
Examples of an image forming apparatus include a sublimation type image forming apparatus that transfers a dye layer of a thermal transfer sheet to a recording medium so as to form an image. In the sublimation type image forming apparatus, a transparent protective layer is formed on an image so as to protect a surface of the image which is formed on a recording medium. Specifically, the protective layer shields an image from gas which causes image degradation, absorbs ultraviolet rays so as to prevent discoloration and fading of an image, prevents a dye or the like forming an image from transferring to plastic goods, prevents image abrasion, and protects an image from sebum, for example. The protective layer is provided to be layered on a base material sheet having a ribbon shape, for example, and is thermally transferred on an image with a thermal head. By this thermal transfer of the protective layer on an image, an image can be protected and further, a recording medium can be prevented from curling.
Further, when the protective layer is thermally transferred with a thermal head, a surface condition of the protective layer which is formed on an image of a recording medium is modified, being able to provide glossiness, a mat tone, and a silky tone. As a method for modifying a surface condition of a protective layer, such method is provided that a surface property modifying sheet having a desired surface property is overlapped on an image, then the image and the sheet are heated and pressed by a thermal head, and thus the protection layer is softened so as to transfer the surface property of the surface property modifying sheet to a surface of the protective layer.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-315515 discloses a technique that a sheet on which ink layers of Y, M, and C and surface property modifying parts are alternately continued in sequence is provided to one ribbon cartridge. Thus, the ink and the surface property modifying parts are provided on a single cartridge. Accordingly, image formation and surface property modification can be performed by one ink cartridge. Further, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-305601 discloses a technique that thermal fusion ink of Y, M, and C are stored in different ink ribbon cartridges respectively and the cartridge necessary for image forming is exchanged and attached to a head so as to form an image. In the method of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-305601, a ribbon cartridge storing a surface property modifying sheet is attached to the head after the image formation so as to modify a surface condition.